Automatic bolt-operating device.



No. 645,43I. Pat ented Mar. l3, I900;

H. O. S'TOOKWELL. AUTOMATIC BOLT OPERATING DEVICE. (AppTica-tion flledAug-. '31, 1894.) (No Modal.) 4 Sheets-Sheet l.

O O O O O a: NDRRXS Perms 00.. mcrro-Lrma. wnsnmoron, a c.

m. 645,43l. Patented Mar. I3, 1900,

u. c. STOCKWELL. AUTOMATIC BOLT OPERATENE DEVICE.

(Application filed Aug. 81, 1894.) v

' 4 Shani-Sheet z,

. (No Modal.)

THE uonms PEI'ER! 00.. PHGTO LlTHO WASHINGTON n c Patented Mar. l3, moo.

E w v E D .6 LM WR KE P 00 T. H .0 C W T A M 0 T u A M 5 4 6 D. N

(Application filed Aug. 31, 1894.) V

4 Sheets$haet 3,

(No Model.)

Ya: aims PETERS wupuuro-prmoqwuummon D c Patented Mar. 13', I900.

No. 645,43l.

H. c. STOCKWELL; I AUTOMATIC BOLT OPERATING DEVICE.

(Application filed Aug. 31, 1894.)

4 Shaets-Sheet 4.

(No Model.)

lslLlu Ill .mmo. w

. .lllll "m: you: PErEns co. PHoTaun-m. wunmuron, o, c

NITED STATES ATENT HERBERT C., STOCKWVELL, OF LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA,ASSIGNOR TO THE YALE dc TOWNE MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF STAMFORD,

CONNECTICUT.

AUTOMATIC BOLT-OPERATING DEVICE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 645,431, dated March13, 1900. Application filed August 31,1894. gerial No. 521,867. (Nomodel.)

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, HERBERT C. StrookwELL, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Los Angeles, in the county of Los Angeles and Stateof California, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inAutomatic Bolt- Operating Devices, of which the following isaspecification.

My invention relates to that class of boltoperating mechanisms whichemploy casting and retracting powers controlled, respectively, by theact of closing the door and by a suitable time mechanism and whichemploy a normal or primary retracting power and an auxiliary or reserveretracting power. Bolt operating mechanisms of this class have beenheretofore made with two retracting powers, either or both of which maybe used to retract the bolts, and in some cases devices have beenconstructed for disconnecting one from the other; but all previousdevices have been somewhat complicated, so that in practice it has beenmore usual to so construct the devices that in case either retractingpower should fail to work the other would be obliged to compress thecasting-springs of the side not working in order to retract the bolts.\Vhile devices thus made work practically and with general satisfaction,it is obviously better that the retracting power should not be requiredto be so strong as to be able to retract the bolts and at the same timeto compress any casting-springs, because when working normally and notcompressing the casting-springs an unnecessary force is exerted upon thebolts. My present invention relates, therefore, to certain novelfeatures of construction, to be hereinafter fully described, andparticularly pointed out in the claims, for disconnecting the castingpower in those cases where the reserve power is brought into use, sothat said reserve power in retracting the boltwork is not called upon tocompress the casting-springs, but acts upon the bolts with entireindependence; and my device has the further advantage that when thereserve power has been called into action the bolts cannot be againthrown forward unless the reserve power is set, so that it is impossibleto look a safe or other receptacle unless both the primary and reservepowers are .in operative condition.

In theaccompanying drawings, Figure 1- is a plan of one side of thedevice, the cover being removed to disclose the usual form of detentmechanisms which control the respective retracting powers and arethemselves adapted to be controlled by a time mechanism. Fig. 2 is aplan of the opposite side of the device with the cover removed, showingthe casting power, the normally-operating retracting power, and theemergency or auxiliary retracting power, together with means forremoving theob struction olfered by the casting power to eitherretracting power in the operation of unlocking, the parts being shown inthe locked position. Fig. 9 is a section on the line x 00, Fig. 2. Fig.3 is a view similar to Fig. 2, but showing the parts in the positions ofnormal unlocking. Fig. dis a similar view showing the parts in thepositions of the emergency unlockingthat is to say, when thenormally-operating retracting power has failed to doits duty and theunlocking has been accomplished by the reserve power.

Referring to Fig. 1, which shows the detent mechanisms, 1 and 1 are apair of shafts mounted transversely in the casing A of the device tocontrol the respective unlocking powers, and these shafts are providedwith the usual levers a a, by which the shafts are prevented fromturning until released by the time-lock. These levers a and a have theusual hooked ends engaged by the correspondingly-hooked short arms oflevers b and b, pivoted at c and o and controlled by levers d and d,pivoted at e and c and connected to the ends of lovers?) 1) through themedium of slots f f and pins 9 g. The levers 61 Cl are provided at theirouter ends with pins h 7t for engagement by detents z' i. The detent 7;is so located that its end It projects outside of the casing and is thusadapted to be tripped by any suitable time mechanism. This tripping iscommunicated to the other detent 2" through the medium of a pivoted yokeL. This yoke L is so constructed and arranged with reference to thedetent 1' that when said detent is moved by the time-lock for unlockingthe hook releases the levers of ing-springs 1O abut, is supported by thecarthe primary unlocking power before it impinges against said yoke.Thus the bolts are normally operated by the primary un locking poweralone, and usually a dog comes into action by the unlocking of thebolts, so that the reserve power does not act except in case ofemergency; but if for any cause the primary unlocking power does notretract the bolts then continued motion of the hook '5 under the impulseof the time-lock causes it to act upon the pivoted yoke L and this inturn to unlatch the reserve detent t", and thus bring the reserveunlocking power into action.

Referring to Figs. 2, 3, and 4, which illustrate my invention, togetherwith the mode of operation and the construction and relative arrangementof parts, it will be seen that the shafts 1 and l" are provided on theirends opposite the detent-levers (t and a with short levers 2 and 2*,andthese levers 2 and 2 are connected, through the medium of links 8, withthe sliding carriages 4 and 4c of the primary and reservebolt-retracting powers 5 5. The retracting powers which operate upon thecarriages 4 and 4 consist of two groups of springs of four each, asshown. The said carriages in order to retract the bolts for unlockingthe safe are connected, through drawbars 6 and 6, with theattaching-plate B, which is arranged for attachment to the boltwork inthe usual manner. These retracting powers are arranged for independentoperation, and in order that either may exert its influence upon theplate B, which is attached to the bolts, and at the same time to preventthe possibility of either opposing the other in the event of itsbecoming disabled the draw-bars 0 and 6 are connected to the plate 13 bymeans of the heads 7 on said bars and the flange 9 on the plate, throughwhich latter the draw-bars work and with which they engage by theirheads 7. The plate B has slots or recesses 8 in order that bothdraw-bars may be thrust forward when the retracting powers are being setwithout projecting the bolts and also to permit either retracting powerin operating upon the bolts to draw the plate B backward withoutobstruction from the other draw-bar in the event of its power becomingdisabled or blocked.

10 represents the casting power, which exerts its force upon the boltsto project them into locked position through the medium of a frontmovable carriage 11, which abuts against the flange 9 of the plate B.This casting power has bearing at the rear against thenormally-stationary push-block 12.

From so much of the description it will be observed that the device hasa single casting power, with working connections with the bolts or aplate to be attached thereto, and two independently-operative retractingpowers having independent detents for opposing their operation until thedetents shall have been released by a time mechanism.

The push-block 12, against which the castriage i of the "primaryretracting-springs, so that when the bolts are retracted by the primaryunlocking power 5 the carriage 4 travels backward with said push-block12 and the casting-springs go with them bodily, so that no obstructionoccurs to the retraction of the boltwork; but the reserveunlocking-springs 5 are carried by-another carriage 4L, which is notdirectly connected with the castingsprings, so that if saidcasting-springs are not carried out of the way by the primary unlockingsprings the reserve unlockingsprings in order to retract the bolts wouldbe obliged to compress said locking-springs. To avoid thisobjectionablefeature, 'I provide in such case for removing the supportof the push-block 12 from the primary retractingcarriage, so thatsaid'push-block 12 and the locking-springs will be free to move.backward, and therefore the compressing of the casting-springs is alsoavoided during the retracting of the bolts by the reserve power. Tothusremove the support of push-block 12, I make said support of a bell-cranklever 12, the lower arm of which acts as a brace for the rear of thepush-block 12 and normally rests against the stump 13, which is attachedto a projection 13 on the primary carriage 4, while its upper orvertical arm 12 rests against the rear of the reserve-carriage 1. Nowassuming that the primary unlocking power has failed to work and thereserve unlocking power is brought into action, 0bviously the firstmovement of the reserve-carriage backward will be to throw thebell-crank lever 12 out of engagement with the stump 13. Thiswilldisconnect the push-block 12 of the casting-springs, so that the blockwill be moved backward by its springs instead of compressing them, andthe bolts will be retracted without compressing said castingsprings. Thelever 12 is pivoted to pushblock 12 at 12 and is held normally inengagement with lug 13 by means of the spring 12 bearing upon short arm12 of said lever. When this takes place, the parts will occupy thepositions shown in Fig. 4.

In addition to the effect produced by the means which I have describedfor displacing the connection of the push-block 12 a specialadvantage'exists in the use of this construction in that after theemergency unlocking power has operated it will be necessary to set thesame and forcethe carriage t forward, and thus release the lever-arm 12from said carriage 4: before the locking power can be set up. Moreover,the primary power-carriage by the nature of the construction by itsforward movement in resetting causes the supporting bell-crank lever ofthe push-block to assume its proper position. It is therefore obviousthat the apparatus cannot be set for use except in theproper way norwithout all parts assuming their proper relations.

In order to reset the springs of the retracting powers, the shafts l and1 are rotated by means of the usual tool applied to the heads of leversa and a. (Shown in Fig. 1.) This rotation of the shafts 1 and 1 forcesthe carriages 4 and a forward through the medium of the levers 2 and 2and links 3, compressing the springs 5 and 5 until the levers 2 and 2come against the stops y. (See Fig. 2.) As the levers 2 2 areintercepted by these stops the levers a and a on the opposite ends ofthe shafts l and 1 will have caused the levers b b and detents v; r" toassume the proper relations to lock the shafts 1 and l againstretrograde rotation and to hold them securely in opposition to theretracting powers 5 and 5 until the detent 71 is tripped by the timemechanism in the well-known manner.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a bolt-operating device, the combination of a casting power, aprimary retracting power, a stump carried thereby, a lever connected tothe casting power and adapted to engage the stump for holding thecasting power to its work, an auxiliary retracting power, and an arm 12connected to said lever and supported in the path of the auxiliaryretracting power and adapted to be moved thereby for disconnecting thecasting power when the boltwork is retracted, substantially asdescribed.

- 2. In a bolt-operating device; the combination of the casting powerconsisting of suitable springs; the front and rear carriages upon whichsaid springs operate; a lever on the rear carriage; a primary retractingdevice having a stump normally engaged by the lever and through itholding the casting power to its work; the laterally-projecting armconnected to the lever and adapted to throw it out-of engagement withthe stump; and an auxiliary or reserve retracting power operatingindependently of the primary retracting power and located to engage saidlaterallyprojecting arm in the movement of retraction, substantially asand for the purpose set forth.

HERBERT C. STOOKWELL.

Witnesses:

SoHUYLER MERRITT, GEO. E. WHITE.

